California’s Real Elections

Arnold Schwarzenegger has made a big splash in the media by entering the California governor’s race. But the real news out of California came a few days before Arnold’s political bombshell. The latest census data show — for the first time —...

Africa: A Tragic Continent

Anyone who believes President Bush’s Africa initiative, including sending U.S. troops to Liberia, will amount to more than a hill of beans is whistling Dixie. Maybe it’s overly pessimistic, but most of Africa is a continent without much hope for its...

Activists More to Fear than Pesticides

As public health officials consider spraying pesticides to control the mosquito-borne West Nile virus, anti-pesticide activists claim that spraying devastates birds and other wildlife. But such claims should be viewed with skepticism. It seems that West Nile virus and...

“The New Economy”– Alive and Kicking

For the last year or two, it has been fashionable to ridicule the idea of a “New Economy,” which underlay the stock market boom of the late 1990s. However, last week’s productivity report shows that the New Economy is alive and kicking. The original...

“Little Doors” For Flying Terrorists

Two questions have been left unanswered following last week’s announcement by Homeland Security Department head Tom Ridge that he has temporarily suspended travel programs allowing foreigners to fly into our country without U.S. visas: Why did it take so bloody...

Poland is Doing the Right Things

Poland, the fifth-largest country in Europe, is not one of the first places most investors look for opportunities. But maybe it should be. I returned full of enthusiasm a few weeks ago from my first trip to Poland in 40 years. Poland’s stock market is small...